Barracuda
by Phelan
Summary: Clan Diamond Shark develops a new urban-combat 'mech.


The technician finished the last equation, wiping his brow and saving the design information. A week of continuous checking, re-checking, comparing, adding and removing equipment to the design, and it showed tremendous potential. Barracuda. A secret design by the Diamond Shark Clan scientist caste, finally ready for approval by the Khan. The tech leaned back in his chair, resting and thinking back to the 'mechwarrior who had first thought of creating this unusual 'mech. Piloting a second-line Pirahna, he had complained about the lack of 'mech-killing firepower in the design, and had dreamed up this...thing. The tech had almost laughed at the design when he first heard of it, but having a look at the finished plans had changed his point of view. He had become proud of the design at some point. At forty tons, the Barracuda was one of the heaviest scouts developed, but moved at one-hundred and thirty kph, almost unheard of for something so large. Carrying eight tons of armor and with an endo-steel structure, the barracuda was very durable. But all the armor and speed were useless without weapons, and the warrior who had first thought of the design had given it plenty. In its primary configuration, it carried an unbelievable thirty machine guns! To feed the ammo-hungry design, the tech had squeezed in four tons of ammo, two in each leg. That kind of punch generally couldn't be reached by anything short of sixty tons. This design could probably eliminate any 'mech it faced, given the right circumstances. "I can not believe I have created something like this," the tech thought to himself. After shutting down the terminal, the tech headed for his bunk, wondering if the Khan would approve such a design.  
  
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It had been three weeks since the Khan had approved the design, and simulator training was about to begin in ernest. The technician stood at a terminal in the control room, performing a final check of the systems before signaling his superior. In the training room below, the five test pilots entered their pods. The doors sealed, and the test began.  
  
I had just finished buckling into the command seat of the sim pod when the screen lit up. The senior tech's old, lined face appeared and began a rundown of how this afternoon's test would go. "When everyone is ready, we shall begin. Mechwarrior Andrew will be piloting the Barracuda design, while the rest of you will attempt to destroy it. Please note that you will be using older, Inner Sphere designs and should try to work as a "lance." This test will simulate a small city, with enough obstacles to give plenty of cover to both sides. This is to see if the design will work in the terrain it was built for. Luck, Mechwarriors. Begin!"  
  
  
I powered up my Panther immediately, checking my radar display for my three allies. On my left I saw a Jenner, and on my right stood a Wolfhound and an Urbanmech. Four heavily armed light 'mechs against a single medium sounded unfair, but we did need the data. Keying up the frequency for our "lance," I began giving orders. "Remember, we are to act and fight as Inner Sphere pilots would. If you have a shot at the enemy, take it. We are not engaging in honor duels. Try to use physical attacks if you are point blank. We shall give Andrew a good fight, quiaff?"  
  
One by one they answered, and we began to maneuver through the streets of the city. Though none of us were allowed to see the blueprints of the Barracuda, I knew that it was well built for this type of work. I told Kennedy to take point in his Urbanmech, as his thick armor and autocannon would make surviving an ambush easier. I stayed right behind him, though my PPC would work better at range. Zel took the left flank in his Wolfhound, walking one street over, while Misty took the right in the ungainly Jenner. We plodded along slowly, severely hampered by Kennedy's 'mech. After several minutes without a trace, I started wondering if Andrew had laid a trap for us to walk into. I was about to give our group a warning when Misty's voice broke the silence. "I have foun...ech! It came..." I rammed my feet down on the jump pedals, hoping to clear the block before Andrew could finish Misty and disappear. Even at this distance, the pod's speakers were reporting sounds of machine-gun fire. Then came an explosion as I popped up into view. Misty's Jenner had been blasted to scrap, then it looked like the SRM ammo had cooked off. I touched down on the roof of the building her 'mech had fallen against, weapons searching.  
  
Before I could get back on the radio, Zel and Kennedy walked out on either side of the block I had jumped over, their own weapons tracking back and forth. One last look from my perch and I took off again to land at the feet of the mangled Jenner, with my back to it. Looking at the viewstrip to see behind me, I tried to estimate where he had come from. Not seeing any signs of gunfire pitting the wall, I glanced up and down both ends of the street. I don't know how I had missed it, but there was a huge part of the asphalt that had been ripped up by a hail of bullets. Taking another glance at the dead mech behind me, I saw she had been attacked from the front! He must have known she was coming and took the opportunity to show off. This also told me he was fighting the way a Clan warrior would, without tricks. Good.  
  
"Form up on me and stay close. Andrew intends to turn this into his own show, and we shall oblige." I turned and headed down the street, as Kennedy and Zel followed. We walked two blocks before I began preparing for another attack. As we approached the next intersection, I suddenly turned right and increased speed, Zel and Kennedy right with me. Another two blocks and I turned left, then ran one more block. Rounding the bend, I came face to face with the new 'mech. It didn't look as deadly as I had thought it would, no gaping muzzles waiting to blast me to pieces. It did have gun ports, scattered over the left and right torso and arms. I had just enough time to activate my jump jets to avoid the barrage, but Kennedy was not as lucky. He had come plodding around the bend, and caught virtually the entire attack. The noise was horrific, a continuous thudding clatter that is usually the sound of the heaviest of autocannons. Within seconds the heavy armor plating, chipped and dented from the sheer volume and kinetic punch of all those ordinarily harmless bullets, gave out. With a sickening groan and a shriek of metal on metal, I heard the Urbanmech's gyro ground to dust, moments before Kennedy punched out. Though I couldn't see Zel, I heard the sound of his 'mech stop before the intersection, and I turned my attention back to the 'mech below. Andrew started backing up, his arms pointing towards me but not firing, as he moved his mount backwards around a corner, gently as can be. By now I had touched down on another roof and was waiting for Zel to come out. "Try and flank him, I shall stay on the roofs."  
  
"Aff, I shall attempt to get on his left flank." With that, I heard the Wolfhound's footsteps grow quiet. I believed Andrew was unable to jump in that Barracuda of his, else he would have already been after me. So I took my time, planning each jump to stay out of the range of his arsenal of machine guns. I had never seen a 'mech die so fast, except when I witnessed a Warhawk obliterate a Locust. "With his weapons configuration, we must keep him at any distance, quiaff? No matter what, try and keep your distance. You saw what Andrew did to Kennedy!"  
  
"Aff, I know. Though with that many machineguns, he will run out of ammunition very quickly. Is there some way we can force him to run out?"  
  
"Neg. Remember, he was the one who invented the stravag thing in the first place! I would not be surprised if he has enough ammo left to kill each of us twice over. If we are going to kill him we must get on both sides of him while staying at a distance."  
  
"Very well, Leonard, I will keep going to the left. Let me be the one to destroy Andrew!"  
  
"Aff. He may be trying to track us now. Begin radio silence, but if you are attacked, let me know immediately."  
  
A quick affirmative and he was off, heading to my *right*. His earlier transmission, "let me be the one..." was a code that the four of us had agreed upon before the test. It meant that he would do the exact opposite of what he had said before, meaning he would take the right flank. I jumped down to the ground, and began a steady advance. Two warriors without any return fire was impressive. I would have to thank Andrew for the lessons he was teaching me about urban warfare. After a few blocks, my radar showed an intermittent contact ahead of me. Right where I though he would be. I turned my radar off, hoping it would enable me to catch him unaware. Three more blocks, and I flipped the radar on just long enough to make sure he had not snuck up on me. The Barracuda had moved about a block over, not enough to get behind me. According to radar, he had been standing in between two intersections, leaving him with little retreat should Zel and I catch him at the right time. I rounded the bend, activating my radar and bringing my PPC to bear on the Barracuda's back. Again, he had moved, and before I could fire he turned the corner ahead. Freebirth!  
  
I charged down the street, but jumped over the corner of the building, not wanting to suffer the same fate as Kennedy. The Barracuda was there, but facing me, torso cranked back to bear on my Panther, arms pointed at me again. This time, he did fire, filling the air with a hail of tracers and armor-piercing slugs. I snapped off a shot with my PPC, smiling as the left arm was laid all but bare of protection. My smile quickly changed into a snarl as the thousands of pinpricks began to rattle off my torso. I fired off my SRMs, aiming for the already damaged arm, but the constant drumming against my mech spoiled my aim. Two of the missiles impacted around the Barracuda's legs, doing little but singe the paint. The third one slammed into the left leg, doing minor damage. The fourth missile exploded in midair, a victim to the hail of bullets. A quick glance told me that I had better wait for Zel to appear; the armor on both my legs were listed as critical, flashing red. The torso was not much better, orange with the left torso a lighter yellow. My PPC-carrying right arm was lightly damaged, and the left arm was almost perfect. A few stray rounds had impacted with the cockpit, shaking me about. As I landed, fighting the controls to stay balanced, Zel came charging from the right side of the Barracuda, firing all his lasers. The large laser struck the right arm, melting a furrow up to the elbow, nearly stripping the last of the armor. Two of the medium lasers struck the right leg, and the last laser added to the damage done by the large, blasting away the remaining armor and beginning to eat into the endo-steel structure.  
  
The Barracuda rocked back from the assault, crouching in an attempt to lower the center of gravity. Andrew whipped the torso to face Zel, and the roar and rumble of all those machine guns began to set my teeth on edge. With the same shotgun effect as the largest LB-X autocannon, the Wolfhound was knocked back with gaping holes in its right leg and torso. With that much punch, even Zel could not do anything to prevent his fall, and instinctively brought his arms forward to minimize the damage. As his 'mech struck the pavement, I watched the right arm bend outwards and break off from some support in the mangled chest. My PPC and SRMs had reloaded by now, so I fired, trying to buy Zel some time to get to his feet. My heat drove up into the red band as I fired, and I slammed my fist on the manual override, while I began backing up. The blast of manmade lightning struck the left breast, boiling away even more armor, three SRMs scattering over the torso. Again, one missile split from the others, though it hit the left arm, ruining the armor and hitting the shoulder actuator. Zel was now rising from a crouch, ready to finish the job when another hellish crash of gunfire drilled into the chest, this time stripping away the armor and then piercing his fusion engine. The overrides managed to shut down the engine and blast Zel out of the downed mech, but the angle of the 'mech shot the command couch straight into a nearby office building.  
  
The Barracuda again pivoted at the waist and began charging me, hoping to get within the minimum range of my primary weapon. "Curse those surats for being unable to build anything worthwhile!" I kept backing up, buying some time for me to disable the field inhibitor and let my heat go down. Andrew started firing as I watched the ready indicator for my SRMs light up, but now the bundle of left arm weapons stayed silent. I must have broken the ammo feed with the last missile! Before that thought finished crossing my mind, I fired again, PPC burning past his head while fusing the delicate components of my weapon into slag. The SRMs barely had time to accelerate before smashing once again into the torso of my enemy. I felt my Panther shudder and begin to collapse when the forty ton Barracuda slammed into me. The screens of the sim pod went blank, and the door slid open, letting in cool air as I released the restraint harness. Clamboring out, I saw Zel standing by his pod, hair a sweaty mess. Andrew appeared from his pod seconds after myself, an ecstatic grin on his face. Misty and Kennedy must have already gone to talk with the techs and scientists. I walked towards Andrew with a grin of my own and said, "Well fought. Your design is quite adept at this kind of combat. It truly deserves to be called the Barracuda."  
  
"I am glad you approve. Perhaps you may pilot it in the next exercise, if you wish. I saw on the infrared scanners that your Panther was all but melting. You may enjoy the fact that the Barracuda generates no heat."  
  
"With an offer like that, I will certainly accept the opportunity. Now let us go talk to the people who may turn this beast into reality."  
  
We shook hands and followed Zel into the control room. 


End file.
